Riding Bitch
by Rue Dawn
Summary: Lottie Teller did not want to come back and be stuck under the watchful eyes of SAMCRO once again after a 5 year absence, but when getting spooked sends her running home she can only hide herself and her past from the club for so long. "I ride bitch with you. Only you Juice. And that- that means something. So whatever it is, whatever you've done, I'm not going anywhere." Juice/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Hey Guys,**

 **Thanks for checking out my story. Now I'm not going to promise regular updates because as you can likely see none of my stories are updated regularly at the moment and I don't want to rush something and put out complete shit, however, I found the start of this story, the first two chapters on my laptop again today and I thought why not share it? I hope you enjoy it when it does come anyways.**

 **Summary :** "For _fuck sake_ I ride bitch with you! And I _hate_ riding bitch. Fucking _**hate**_ it!" Juice's face scrunched and a small crease appeared between his eyebrows as he took in Lottie's words. "Jesus I had Jax teach me to ride as soon as possible, I wasn't going to be one of _those_ girls, the ones in the clubhouse who hang off the guys every word. I'm a Teller and I can do anything they can! I ride bitch for _no one_ … but with you… I ride bitch with you. Only you Juice. And that- that means something. So whatever it is, whatever you've done, I'm not going anywhere."

 **Rated M for language and possible mature content in the future, but if you watch the show you expect that.**

 **Nothing but Lottie and other OC characters you may see pop up belong to me.**

* * *

Riding Bitch

Chapter 1 – Homecoming

By Rue Dawn

It was hot in Charming, at least, in comparison to New York it was. A whole ten degrees hotter and Lottie Teller felt every single one of those ten degrees as the sun beat down on her dark black leather jacket. Strolling through the main street of her childhood hometown whilst being cooked to death by the sun hadn't been on her list of things to do today. She'd actually expected to get dropped off at her new apartment and spend the rest of the day unpacking her worldly possessions.

Blowing out a puff of air which made some of her blonde tresses lift and fall to the side she muttered, "Crazy ass taxi driver."

So far she'd managed to avoid her family and their various associates whilst systematically moving herself back into Charming but strolling down Main Street bold as brass, a leather jacket on her back and a cumbersome duffle bag slung haphazardly across her shoulders was certainly a way to get their attention if there ever was one. It was only really a matter of time now, eventually she'd hear the rumble of a Harley Davidson engine and inevitably the biker's eyes would be drawn to the leather clad woman and even if that biker didn't recognise her, he'd be sure to mention it to one that would. Bikers in this town were notorious gossips after all, and nothing really stayed secret for long around the Sons.

She amused herself for a moment imagining what would happen should she be seen by a biker who didn't recognise her. Depending on who he spoke to and what he said, that could be a very explosive conversation. Snorting to herself over the unlikelihood that a biker in this town _wouldn't_ recognise a member of the Teller family on sight, she stepped into a patch of shade and hefted the duffle of her shoulder with a groan, throwing it at her feet. For some reason Main Street was a lot shorter in her memory.

"My, my, my if it ain't little Lottie Teller and one huge ass bag! I didn't realise you were visiting sweet'art." The smooth voice cut straight through Lottie's musing on Main Street, as she turned with a sigh; she'd been hoping to last just a touch longer before she had to have this conversation.

"That's because I'm not." Her voice was resigned, expecting the questions to follow after.

Eyebrows quirked, the dark haired man in the leather bikers cut shifted nervously on his feet, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he approached. "Right. Figures. Your Ma would have mentioned it if she knew. She's always complainin' about how her baby ain't been back in five years." His bright blue eyes pierced straight through Lottie, he'd always been able to read her like a book. "So what exactly are you doin' strolling up Main Street then?"

Lottie ran a hand through her long blonde hair, her sharp blue eyes twinkling with frustration as she clicked her tongue against the top of her mouth. "It would stand to reason I'm heading somewhere don't you think?" She asked smartly.

He let out a light chuckle and fixed her with a penetrating gaze. "Cut the crap kid."

Huffing slightly and crossing her arms over her chest, giving herself the appearance of the moody teenager she'd been five years ago, suddenly feeling that young again before one of the men from her childhood she replied, "I'm moving back Tig."

Tig did his best to control his expression and not let his surprise show. Five years ago he'd been one of the guys that went with Lottie to drop her off at college and he remembered her glee vividly. She'd told him in no uncertain terms just how happy she was to finally be out of 'that shithole' whilst shooting her older brother a steely glare. Back then Lottie had been itching to get out from under her family's careful watch. Back then he would have put money on her never coming back; he'd never been too surprised when Gemma, Lottie's mother, would announce with a frown that once again her daughter wasn't coming home for the holidays. He couldn't imagine what could have happened to bring Lottie to this decision but as he thought about it he realised he probably didn't actually want to know. It was no secret he had a soft spot for the kid and anything that could convince her to move back to Charming couldn't be good.

Pressing his lips together tightly in an attempt to keep the frown off his face he glanced at the bag by her feet. "No one knows then?"

She shrugged. "Not yet." Scowling at the disapproving look she received, Lottie toed the ground with her heavy black boot. "I'm going to tell them." She insisted. "I just thought it would be easier if I got all moved in first, a nice surprise or something."

"Right." Tig was clearly unconvinced. Throwing an amused smirk Lottie's way he grabbed the strap of her duffle in his hand. "Where to kid?"

"It's just up here." She nodded in the direction of her apartment her hair lifting slightly as it was caught by the breeze. "And I can take my own bag."

Lottie reached out to grasp the strap herself but was stopped by Tig who dove in front of it. "Now what kind of gentleman would I be if I let the lady carry her own bag?" He grinned.

Lottie snorted. "You a gentleman? That's a laugh." Smiling despite the annoyance she felt at being found out so quickly she began strolling up the street again, after a few steps she paused and turned. Tig wasn't following her. "You coming or what?"

"Bike." He gestured with his thumb over his shoulder to his Harley.

"Okay." Lottie marched back with a smile, stopping in front of Tig with her hand outstretched.

"Keys."

"Ha. Ha. Ha. _Ha._ "Tig enunciated every sarcastic 'ha' clearly. "Think you're a regular comedian don't you? Not a chance."

"Fine then we walk." Lottie replied with absolute certainty.

"It's been _five years_." Tig moaned, rubbing a hand over his face in frustration. "You cannot be serious."

Lottie shook her head and rested her previously outstretched hand on her hip, eyes hard. "I don't ride bitch. With _anyone_."

Tig thought about arguing with her for a second but, recognising the stubborn look on her face as the same one she had always displayed in her youth, he merely ran a hand over his curly black hair and responded with a sigh. "That way?" He nodded in the direction she'd began walking earlier.

Face filled with triumph, Lottie clicked her tongue again; a habit she'd picked up from her brother Thomas when he'd been alive. "Yep. Come on macho man. I'll even let you carry my bag." She teased.

Tig's lips pressed into a rueful grin, she'd clearly played him, she never intended on carrying the bag once he'd offered. Ruffling the hair on her head with his left hand, large rings glinting in the sunlight he muttered, "Good to have you back kid." Before heaving the heavy bag onto his right shoulder, "God damn woman, what you got in here? Bricks or something?!"

"Or something." Lottie replied, a wry smile on her face. Deftly she hooked her arm through

Tig's free one. "Come on Tiggy, I'll show you my new place."

* * *

"This place is a fuckin' disaster." Tig's lips curled as he surveyed the complete chaos of the small apartment.

After Lottie had spent a fair few minutes cussing out the dodgy lock on her door which Tig was certain he could have picked faster, they'd finally made it inside only for him to almost trip over a stack of tiny cardboard boxes. The young woman had expertly weaved her way through the chaos, removed the leather jacket and thrown it over a box before collapsing on the faded fabric sofa inspecting the mess with a disinterested gaze.

"Yeah well this time I didn't have my rag-tag bunch of biker movers did I?" She quipped.

"Besides it's not that bad."

Tig snorted as he cautiously began tiptoeing through the apartment towards the couch. "Your mother would have a heart-attack."

Lottie flashed him a wide smile. "My mother wouldn't have ever let it look like this in the first place."

Finally reaching the sofa he flopped down with an exaggerated sigh, dropping the duffle on the wood-panelled floor beside him. "So this is…" Tig frowned as he looked over the apartment again. Honestly it was all right but it didn't really hold a candle to the one he'd moved her into five years ago.

"It's a roof with a kitchen, working toilet and bathroom, one bedroom and this living room. And cheap, _dirt_ cheap." Lottie bit her lip a look of contemplation on her face. "It'll be nice." Her face scrunched as she glanced at the chaos. "Eventually."

Standing up and stretching making her back pop so loudly lesser men would have flinched,

Lottie looked over her shoulder at Tig. "You want a beer?"

"Please." He responded, following her lead and hoisting himself up from the couch.

Whilst Lottie carefully manoeuvred around her boxes in the direction of the kitchen, or so he assumed, Tig took the opportunity to take a further look around the tiny apartment. She'd been spot on in her description; there really wasn't anything besides the living room, bathroom, bedroom and kitchen. Shaking his head when he saw the 'bedroom' consisted of two suitcases, two duffels, a mattress with a thin quilt thrown over it and what was obviously the actual bed frame leant against the wall he wandered back through the assault course to the kitchen.

"You realise the mattress goes on the bed frame right?"

"Listen here nosey." Lottie passed him a beer with a grin. "The second I find those tools I'll have the mattress on a bed frame but for now, no tools means no bedframe. Besides," She took a big gulp of her beer. "The mattress on the floor ain't that bad."

"Lotts you don't even have a pillow!" Tig exclaimed waving a hand for emphasis.

Her electric eyes met his and he was pleased to see their intensity and unique colouring hadn't changed a bit, there was still a mixture of pale blue and white flecks he'd liken to lightning bolts running through them. A small shiver ran down his spine at her intense and earnest gaze. He was suddenly reminded of how young she really was, whether or not her maturity went beyond her years, her eyes held an innocence his hadn't for a very long time.

"Yeah I do. It's in a box." She waved a hand at the mass of boxes which were placed haphazardly on every available surface. "Somewhere."

"Okay that's it." He gulped his beer down before placing the empty bottle in her sink; there wasn't really any other free surface. "I'm going back to the garage, I'm getting my tools and then I'm gonna help you set up."

"You don't have to do that." Lottie bit her full bottom lip.

Tig felt a tug of affection in his heart for the baby of the Teller family; she was never the type to put anyone out even when she truly wanted the help. "Yeah I do." He said striding towards the door. "Don't move, I'll be back."

Lottie snorted. "All right terminator, whatever you say." Eyes widening, she jogged towards the door, careful not to knock into any boxes. Swinging her head out around the doorframe she called after the man strutting down the hallway. "'Ey Tig!" He turned, pausing to look at the small girl, propping the door open with the hand clutching her beer bottle. "Don't tell anyone I'm here right?"

A disbelieving grin wormed its way onto his face and the force of the glare he was met with made him chuckle, throwing his hands up in defeat. "All right, all right, not a word Princess. Promise."

"Thanks." She smiled, waiting for his nod, before going back inside to try and make an actual walkway through the boxes. There was one thing she had always loved about the bikers in Charming; they knew how to keep a secret.

* * *

Six hours later and one MC of highly suspicious bikers who were now getting seriously concerned about what Tig's fetishes may entail; Lottie and Tig had finally got her apartment in some sort of order. There were still a few boxes of knickknacks that needed to be emptied out as well as a few boxes of books and DVDs but mostly she was moved in.

Both the biker and the female were exhausted. They flopped down onto the couch with heavy sighs, their entire bodies feeling weighted. "Well, that would have been considerably harder than I thought to do alone." Lottie muttered.

"How the hell do you even have so much stuff?" Tig's eyes were closed as he complained; slightly bewildered at all the junk the young girl had managed to collect. "I don't remember moving half that much junk before."

"It's been five years Tig. I buy things. I like stuff." Lottie cracked one eye open and glanced at the man beside her; he looked beat. "I'll buy pizza for your troubles." She coaxed, feeling a little guilty at taking advantage of his offer of help now.

"With anchovies?" His voice was whiney and childish, Lottie let out a loud laugh as she dialled the phone.

"Yeah, sure. I hope you appreciate this Tig, my apartment is going to stink for weeks now." She tried her best to sound annoyed but she couldn't be truly bothered, the man had wasted a whole day helping her.

As she pushed herself up on the couch ordering pizza, the air in the room seemed to become heavy, she could feel the little hairs on the back of her neck stand up as Tig's eyes opened and met her own. Ending the call with the knowledge that she'd have their pizza in thirty minutes or she wouldn't have to pay for it, Lottie tried to mentally prepare herself for the conversation she had felt coming all day. Her eyes watched Tig carefully as he pushed himself into a seated position. Lottie flicked her long blonde hair over her shoulders so it fell down her back and curled her legs underneath her leaning into the corner of the faded tan couch, getting as comfortable as possible.

For a few moments, neither of them spoke. The air seemed to become thick in a little bubble around them; almost as if the walls were closing in from all sides. Lottie's tongue felt heavy in her mouth it seemed like it had grown two sizes too large in the space of three seconds. Tig twisted one large gold ring around on his finger, his eyes flicking awkwardly from the ring to Lottie a few times before finally settling on the girl.

"So, back to Charming huh?" He began. "What brought that on?"

Lottie laughed the sound wavering slightly with an oddly bitter undercurrent to it. Tig's tongue shot out and wet his bottom lip as he waited, trying to keep his forehead from crinkling as he recognised the tone.

"Mum was right." Something in the way Lottie said it sounded…odd. Not hollow as such more bitter, like the laugh. Yet nothing like that fit, Tig knew for a fact that Gemma hadn't convinced Lottie to come home.

He swallowed, a slow sigh leaving him making the only sound in the room. His eyes assessed Lottie as she fiddled with the hem of her shirt, her head bowed. "Right about what?"

Lottie hesitated, her heart pounding. Pulling her bottom lip between her teeth she shrugged her left shoulder. "Charming is home. I guess I just needed to grow up a little… realise that."

Tig scrunched his eyebrows, tipping his head to the side slightly as he considered her words. "Why haven't you told anyone you're home then?" He asked.

Lottie's eyes snapped up to meet his, her eyebrows were drawn down as if she was turning over a particularly difficult math problem in her mind. "I-"

A shrill bell rang throughout the apartment, Lottie shot to her feet, stumbling and almost losing her footing in her haste to get to the door. "Pizza's here." She mumbled, snatching a purple purse from the table as she went. Tig's muscles tensed as if a weight had been dropped on him, something with Lottie seemed… off somehow.

A few moments later a box was dropped on his lap the heat of it warming his old jeans and a beer was placed in front of him on the recently assembled coffee table. Lottie tucked a strand of long, golden blonde hair behind her ear as she settled into the sofa again. Once she'd placed her own box on her lap she busied her hands, removing a slice of pizza, pushing away the cheese which stretched between the slice and the box. "I just need to work out how to explain things first." She said before taking a bite. "Jesus that's hot!"

"Explain what?" Tig asked his voice light as he began eating his own pizza. "You just call and say, hey mom I'm coming home. How hard can that be?"

Lottie chewed slowly, swallowed and responded. "It's not that bit. It's the bit that comes after."

"What's the worst that could be? At most she's going to want to know where you live, where you work and why you moved back."

Lottie's blonde hair bounced and swayed slightly as she nodded, picking up another slice.

"Sure, but it's not that simple. It never is with mom."

"True that." Tig grinned and his shoulders slumped, feeling light again. "Your mother is a very opinionated woman; she'd probably complain whatever school you're teaching at isn't good enough." Reaching a hand out, he grasped his beer and took a long swig.

"I'm not teaching."

Tig's eyes flew open and his upper body pitched forwards, the beer bubbling in his mouth pushing forcefully against his lips as he struggled to keep them closed. Gulping down the frothy liquid he turned his head to face Lottie. "What the hell do you mean you're not teaching? What did you go to god damn college for if not to teach?!"

"See that-" Lottie pointed one delicate, feminine finger at him accusingly. "That is the reaction I'm afraid of."

"Well no wonder." Tig hastily threw his pizza box on the table, turning fully to face Lottie who hadn't moved an inch and didn't seem to think her throwing away her college education was a big deal in the slightest. "I remember the arguments Lotts. You picked New York to get away from us 'criminals'." He used his fingers to make air quotes around the word. "To be completely unassociated so that you wouldn't get caught up in anything to stop you from teaching. I remember exactly what you went through to make sure that happened; hey I was even supportive of it. Better that than-"

A sharp glare which made him feel like ice was running down his spine cut him off. "Yeah all right, let it go I know."

"You haven't-"

"No I haven't told anyone, look that's not the point. The point _is_ I remember how desperate you were to get away from Charming. How desperate you were to do that job, and now you're suddenly coming home and apparently no longer a teacher. Nah." He shook his head, strands of his black hair stinging his cheeks. "Doesn't make sense."

"It makes perfect sense." Trying to ignore the harsh pounding in her head and the speedy thump of her heart Lottie fiddled with the crust of her last slice, picking bits of the bread off and dropping them in the box. "It didn't work out for me; I didn't like it as much as I thought I would." She pulled a particularly large piece of crust off, her pale hand flew out of control slightly, the back of it hitting the sofa. "I trained in something else and came home."

"Something else?" One side of Tig's mouth scrunched and his eyebrows pulled into a frown.

"Mmmhm." Lottie's eyes met his for the first time since she'd admitted to the job change. "Dental hygienist."

Tig snorted. "You hate the dentist."

"And now I work for one." Lottie grinned, the expression looking anything but happy. "Funny how life works isn't it?"

"Lottie…"

"Look, isn't it enough to say I wasn't happy and now I am. There done." Lottie's shoulders hunched and she slid the pizza box onto the table bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

"Lottie." Tig's head gave a slow shake from side to side, his eyes clouded and dark apart from a small spark of emotion. "He's not coming back to Charming."

"Oh for god's sake!" Lottie groaned, dropping her head onto her knees. "This isn't about him Tig." She lifted her face, looking him directly in the eye. "That was never more than what it was. This is precisely why we didn't tell anyone you know?"

"I'm just looking out for you." He ran a hand through his curly black hair. "Giving everything up for him would be stupid."

Lottie smirked. "Yeah I know, I promise, this isn't about that." She stretched out again leaning back against the couch and splaying her arms out to the side. One tiny pale hand rested on his creating quite a contrast with his tanned skin. The soft pads of her fingers brushed against the back of his hand, so lightly he almost couldn't feel it through his thick skin. "It's about me being happy. I'm happy in Charming."

"Okay doll." He moved his hand, flipping it to grasp hers, squeezing gently. "Whatever you say."

* * *

"You tell your mom soon okay sweets? And make sure you don't mention I knew first. I don't want Gemma on my ass." Tig's lips were pulled into an easy grin as he stood in the doorway to Lottie's apartment later that evening.

Although he'd never admit it, Tig had enjoyed spending a night catching up with Lottie and laughing over things that had happened in both their lives a lot more than he would have enjoyed a night in the clubhouse surrounded by croweaters. Lottie had become a bit of a pseudo daughter to him over the years and he was filled with a warm sense of happiness to finally have her home.

"Yeah, yeah I know." Lottie rolled her blue eyes, a lazy smile on her face as she leant against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest.

Pointing one finger at her Tig replied. "I mean it Baby Teller. You tell her soon."

"I will!" Lottie sounded a little indignant at not being believed in the first instance. "Just give me a few days all right?"

Nodding in acceptance Tig reached out an arm and caught Lottie's small shoulder with one rough hand, pulling her into a tight hug. "Missed you around here B."

"Don't do that Tig. Don't start the Baby Teller, B, BT, thing up again. It'll never go away." Lottie pulled back, her eyes trying to convey a sense of threat but looking far too warm to really hold much sway.

Tig chuckled, pressing a soft kiss to her temple. "To some of us you'll always be Baby Teller. Sorry sweetheart." That said, he released Lottie from his grasp and stepped out of the door. One last "Soon!" making it through before the door banged shut behind him.

Letting out a heavy sigh Lottie turned back to the apartment, picking up two boxes she'd left to the side full of knickknacks, she walked from the door to the living room and began to put the personal touches on her new home.

* * *

 **Thoughts? Do share them :).**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 is now up, this is all I have written out so far so updates will likely be slower from now on. I hope you guys who are reading this are enjoying it, I assume the follows mean so. I would love to hear from any of you who feel like writing a review.**

 **I only own Lottie and my plot thus far. Also this is a little shorter due to Juice and Lottie running away with me and making the chapter come to a natural finish without my say so. Honestly we were meant to hear from a lot more characters but those two just weren't having it I'm afraid.**

* * *

Riding Bitch

Chapter 2 – Connections

By Rue Dawn

All in all Lottie felt as if her second full day back in Charming was starting off a lot better than the first, mostly because it didn't begin with her practically melting under the Californian sun as she traipsed up Main Street. She'd cracked her eyes open lazily, the red numbers on her cheap alarm clock blinking at her announcing that it was ten to eleven. After spending the remainder of the morning unpacking her last few boxes of books and DVDs, flattening the boxes and tucking them away in the one tiny closet her apartment held, Lottie had rather enjoyed relaxing on the couch with a well worn copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for an hour.

A heavy sigh ghosting from Lottie's mouth caused a few shorter tendrils of golden blonde hair to tickle her nose as they settled back over her face. Scrunching her nose, causing it to wrinkle a little, and wiggling it like a rabbit would, she finally decided it was time to test out her new showering facilities. Lottie had practically been waiting to find something wrong with her overly cheap apartment. Whenever something worked perfectly the first time her electric blue eyes would narrow as she glared at the object suspiciously for a few moments, so when she found the knob to turn the shower on particularly stiff, she wasn't exactly surprised. Leaning over the side of the bathtub and grasping it stiffly with both hands she twisted, only succeeding in pulling her hands around the thing until they were flushed bright red. Teeth clenched, Lottie stepped into the bathtub, keeping a tight grasp on the knob and began turning again this time putting her full body weight behind it.

"God damn shower." She groused, pushing and twisting more firmly, not feeling any give. "Just, fuckin' turn on already." With one last twist that made her hands erupt with a searing hot pain the knob finally gave way.

A short whoosh of air and a slight splutter was the only warning Lottie had before the freezing cold water cascaded out of the shower with a hiss. She let out a high pitched squeal and dived out of the bath, her pajamas sticking to her skin. The wet clothes made her skin itch and she scratched at a spot on her right thigh, shivering from her dousing in the ice cold water just as her cell phone which she'd left on the side of the sink vibrated, the loud clattering noise making her jump and clutch her chest with one sore red hand.

 _Maybe today isn't my day after all_. She thought, still trying to calm her racing heart as she grabbed her phone, glancing to see who was interrupting her disastrous shower time.

"Definitely not my day." Lottie groaned, dragging one small hand through her partially wet hair, wincing as her fingers snagged in her thick, damp locks. Her gaze never wavered from the brightly lit phone screen which displayed in big bold letters ' **Mom Calling** '. "Sorry Tig." Lottie mumbled hitting the reject button, knowing she'd get an earful for it from her mother and her friend later. "Not ready yet."

* * *

Stomach rumbling, a painful hollow feeling underneath the arch of her rib cage, Lottie wandered around the Charming supermarket tossing items haphazardly into her cart as she cursed herself for not stocking her apartment with anything more than beer before this. The hot water in her apartment was sadly lacking, so after a bracingly cold shower she'd been looking forward to getting a hot meal only to be hugely disappointed at her lack of forward thinking when she surveyed the bare cupboards.

Hunger clawing at her stomach had made Lottie move quickly; throwing on the nearest clean outfit she could find, dragging a brush through her long hair and dusting herself with simple, easy natural looking make-up she'd been out of the house and on the way to the food store in ten minutes flat.

Her large cart was almost full with all kinds of junk food, from burgers to twinkies and double chocolate chip ice-cream the entire thing not only a complete mess but also a doctor's worst nightmare. _Guess this is why mom said not to go shopping on an empty stomach._ Lottie thought grinning to herself, eyes darting around for where they kept the TV dinners. Lighting up as she spotted the freezer she was looking for, she carefully pushed her cart to the side of the aisle, assuming it would be safe enough and not feeling up to pushing it more than absolutely necessary; her arms were already burning.

"Macaroni Cheese." Lottie mumbled, tucking an annoying strand of hair which kept falling into her face and tickling her nose behind her ear. She picked up the box of Macaroni Cheese as she considered her other options, chewing her plump bottom lip between her teeth. "Fried Chicken…" She balanced that box on top of the other. "Turkey. I'll have one of _you_ …"

* * *

Juan Carlos Ortiz, or Juice as he was better known in and around Charming, grimaced at the sight of the cart parked across the aisle. It was full to bursting and pretty much filled entirely with processed crap and junk food. Shaking his head slightly, mouth tugged down, eyebrows drawn together he glanced around unable to see who the cart was likely to belong to. He ran one hand over his mohawk, took another quick look around and then pursed his lips, his frown becoming one of determination as he got to work on organising the mess that was the mystery person's shopping.

Five minutes later, entirely convinced that all that lay in that cart was a painful stomach and a heart-attack waiting to happen, he carefully placed some kale from his own cart, hoping to tempt the person into a healthier diet. The leafy green vegetable looked ridiculously out of place surrounded by all the boxes of junk food and bottles of fizzy drink and alcohol. With one last resigned head shake for the fat balding man he was sure would be experiencing heart failure sometime soon, Juice headed back to his own cart, now able to think straight again without the distraction of the chaos in the shopping cart across the aisle.

* * *

Lottie stumbled back over to her cart, arms full of TV dinners which she could easily microwave and dropped them in, letting the boxes fall on everything and create dull thuds as things rearranged themselves. For some reason it seemed to her like something was different somehow, clicking her tongue she tilted her head to the side, stormy blue eyes slightly narrowed as she surveyed her cart for what exactly the difference was.

A shock of forest green drew her eyes and she reached in, knocking boxes out of the way as she grasped the leafy green thing with her hand. Frown much more pronounced she pulled the item towards her and stared at it for a second as if it was a sentient thing that could tell her how it magically appeared in her cart. Lottie pursed her lips, she didn't even know what the thing was. Carefully she turned the small paper tag around the middle of the mystery item until she could see the label.

"Kale." She muttered. "Why the hell is there kale in my cart? The fuck is kale?"

Juice turned, hearing the confused tone. The voice speaking was appealing; somehow relaxing and enchanting reminding him of a small stream flowing in the woods on a summer day. Not the irritated voice of a gruff, fat man like he had been expecting. The sight that greeted him when he turned was also a much more pleasant picture.

The girl was young and gorgeous. She had long, flowing golden blonde hair, reaching her waist which was tousled and curled in the oddest places almost as if she had been surfing that morning. She was dressed in a pair of light blue whitewashed skinny jeans, ripped in a fashionable style, her feet encased in a pair of large black bikers boots which she somehow pulled off making Juice's lips quirk into a small half-smile. His eyes trailed up her figure, astounded that such a small person could put away so much crap and stay slim. She didn't look to have much of an ass to Juice, yet she didn't seem out of proportion and what she didn't have in ass she more than made up for in boobs. Her white tank top clung to her in all the right places. It accentuated both her large bust and small waist. Her face, although partially obscured by her hair, looked to be slightly rounded, with high cheekbones. She had pale creamy skin, not even slightly tanned as he had come to expect in california, and it offset her full, pouty pink lips perfectly. Her bottom lip was tugged between her teeth and her eyes were downcast as she stared at the kale he had placed in her cart. Juice was intrigued. He saw many gorgeous women at the club, it was part and parcel of being a Son, having croweaters hanging around and yet, he'd not seen a woman in a while he would truly call beautiful.

Shaking himself out of his daze, Juice strolled over an easy smile stretched across his face, answering her muttered questions as he walked, "Well I thought someone eating all this would need something to balance the scale," one hand hooked in his pocket he stopped just shy of the cart, nearly knocked over by the dazzling pair of blue eyes which met his own. They were astounding, a mix of blues, whites and greys the flecks giving the impression of lightning bolts. "but you obviously don't need help with your figure dollface."

Lottie's lips quirked at the right side, her eyes settling from shocked to warm as she appraised the man in front of her. The first thing she truly noticed was his stunning smile. It was both warm and friendly, stretching across his whole face and making his brown eyes light up. They looked dark at first, but the longer she looked the more she noticed the lighter flecks in them; they reminded her of hot chocolate with tiny golden flecks almost invisible at first glance. He was wearing a long sleeved shirt that made her question his sanity because as lovely as it was to watch the dark material cling to his obviously toned figure, they _were_ in california. A pair of baggy jeans and black boots didn't give much else away about him, but his hair, he showed his personality there. The guy had a mohawk, a cropped mohawk with two tribal tattoos on either side of it that reminded her of lightning bolts. He had a large head, small ears, relatively thin lips and Lottie felt her heart race as she reminded herself that she should probably reply to him.

She broke her blatant admiration of the mystery vegetable guy, her eyes glancing over at his cart filled with healthy food; vegetables, organic stuff and protein shakes by the looks of things. It was about as opposite from her cart as could be.

"Well you," She said, reaching into her cart and grabbing a pizza box. "need to live a little." And with a cheeky wink she tossed it into his cart across the aisle.

Juice's eyes followed the pizza box as it landed in his cart knocking over his carefully stacked cans of soup and he winced, grabbing the bar and pulling his cart towards him. "No, no, no." He muttered, quickly fixing his organisation in a flurry of hurried jerky movements, placing the pizza in its own dedicated spot, his heart pounding erratically in his chest.

Lottie quirked an eyebrow, before glancing at her own cart again. Apart from a few items knocked out of place by the TV dinners, it was meticulously organised. _Wow,_ She thought. _No wonder those dinners fit._

"Did you organise my shopping?" Like a click sliding into place Lottie realised this guy must have something about being organised. She hurried round her cart towards his. "Can I help?"

Juice finished placing his items, his breathing slowing. He stood to his full height again, looking down on the girl slightly entranced in watching her long eyelashes brush against her skin. "No. No. Would it be weird if I…?" He trailed off mouth twisted slightly, making him look uncertain as he indicated towards her cart with his head.

"Honestly?" Lottie laughed, tucking a small strand of hair behind her ear. "A little, but I think we're way past weird at this point so…" She shrugged, tucking her hands in her pockets. "Have at it."

Shooting her one of the widest, most endearing grins Lottie had ever seen, he bent over to organise her cart. He was done within seconds.

"I, I um… I'm Juan Carlos." Juice wasn't sure what possessed him to give her his name, his real name, but he tried to fix it as quickly as possible. Thrusting out a hand he added. "People call me Juice."

A smile tugged at Lottie's lips. "I'm Charlotte." She slid her small, pale hand into his large tanned one and it was almost entirely engulfed. "People call me Lottie."

They shook hands quickly and semi-awkwardly, both feeling a little out of place with the formal greeting.

"So um, what is, what is kale exactly?" Lottie asked, feeling her face flush.

Juice watched her cheeks bloom pink and grinned; she was adorable. "It's a vegetable. Goes in all sorts, it's good I promise." He rubbed the back of his neck. "It's a cruciferous vegetable. Very good for you." Lottie's nose wrinkled as she pressed her lips together and lines appeared on her forehead. "Kind of like cabbage." Juice added, attempting to ease her confusion.

If it was possible Lottie's nose wrinkled even more. "Lovely."

Juice stared at the crinkle in her nose. It was cute, real cute, and yet… he felt as if he'd seen it somewhere before.

Electric eyes darted to his face and then, reaching a hand upwards, Lottie rubbed her nose when she caught him staring. "What?" She asked.

"Nothing, nothing. You just looked," He paused, a slight frown on his face as he tucked a hand back into his pocket. "Familiar for a second. Have I met you before?"

"Are you trying to imply I'm not memorable?" Lottie arched an eyebrow, one hand on her hip.

"What?" Juice threw his hands up in defence, his brown eyes widening. "No, no I-" A high laugh cut off Juice's panic, it was warm and carefree. His eyes flickered to her face, she was laughing at him. "That wasn't very nice." His eyes narrowed but there was no real bite to his tone. If anything it was more teasing. Lottie decided she quite liked the fruity sound to his voice, it wasn't too deep but it wasn't what she would consider too high either.

"Sorry dude, too easy. Anyway," Lottie clicked her tongue. "I doubt we've met before. I've been in New York for years."

"What? No way!" Juice's easy smile came back. "I grew up in Queens."

"Shit." Lottie caught her bottom lip between her teeth, suppressing a large smile. "Small world."

Their eyes met and stayed locked together for a few moments, Lottie enjoying the carefree, dancing in his; Juice feeling drawn to the hidden depths of her electric blue pools.

A loud, obnoxious ringing interrupted their staring. "Shit sorry, I gotta - I gotta take this." Juice said, fishing the phone from his pocket.

"No stress dude. I should probably pay for this anyway." She nodded to the cart. "It was nice meeting you Juice."

Juice grinned, flipping his burner phone open as she grabbed her cart. "Yeah you too. Hey-" He put on a serious face as Lottie, who had begun to walk away, stopped and turned to look at him. "Think about the greens."

"Yeah." She laughed, a loud bubbling sound of pure amusement. "You think about the pizza."

After one final nod to each other, Lottie disappeared around the end of the aisle pushing her heart attack in a cart. When she got to the checkout, she brought the kale. _Maybe,_ She thought. _Maybe it won't be that bad._

* * *

Lottie had been somewhat right in her thinking. It wasn't that bad. It was **worse**. Ten thousand times worse. After forcing down a whole portion of kale, the bitter taste still clinging to the inside of her mouth Lottie wished she was the sort of person who could be indifferent to vegetables and their various tastes, but like it or loathe it she was a fussy fucker as she freely admitted and as such she wished she'd had the common sense to try the new food with the previous night's dinner. That would have been the smart thing to do but the thought of putting the leafy green next to her nice juicy burger just didn't seem right. So instead she'd had it with her bacon and eggs for breakfast. Big mistake.

It was lunchtime now and the taste still hadn't left her mouth. She'd used half a bottle of mouthwash at work trying to get it to dissipate and yet it lingered. Which is why she questioned her sanity when she found herself putting some kale in her basket as she sauntered around the small corner shop on her lunchbreak. _At least it's purple this time, perhaps that's better._ Lottie thought tucking a stray wisp of blonde hair behind her tiny ear as her eyes scanned the cereals. If she went back to waking up with little to no time in the mornings she was going to need cereal. Something she'd forgotten after the distraction at the supermarket with the dashing mohawked man the previous day. A delicate finger brushed the ring lodged in her right cartilage as she pondered her choices.

Picking up a pint of full fat milk which she swung absentmindedly as she thought, Lottie muttered to herself, "Should we go with the Cocoa Puffs or the Bran Flakes of despair…" As her nose crinkled in thought a snort from behind her broke her musings and sent her whipping round, eyes scanning for the source.

Lottie didn't have to scan far, not two feet from her, a fresh, almost open packet of cigarettes clutched loosely in one tanned hand, Juice stood. He was again, Lottie noted, wearing a long sleeved grey shirt, and some slack blue jeans, whatever could possess him to do so in this heat she wasn't sure.

Juice shook his head, his deep brown eyes fixed on her bright blue ones. "Bran Flakes of despair?" He asked disbelievingly. "Really?" A mischievous twinkle lighting his eyes.

"Are health freaks allowed to smoke?" Lottie shot back a grin tugging at the corners of her full, pink lips. "I thought that was against the code or something?" She finished with a wink thrown in his direction her own eyes now alight.

Juice shrugged one shoulder noncommittally, his eyes trailing down her figure and landing on the milk swinging from her fingers before they snapped back to her face. "Oh do my eyes deceive me or are you actually buying something healthy? You know milk is good for your bones right?"

Lottie smiled, Juice's grin she found was rather infectious, but wanting to win whatever small bantering competition they had going on she quickly turned it into a slightly smug smirk. "Yes and I'm going to enjoy pouring it on my Cocoa Puffs." Reaching out and snatching a box off the shelf as she spoke she shoved it into her basket decisively.

His nose wrinkled this time a slightly disgusted look crossing his otherwise handsome face. "Figures you wouldn't even eat a healthy breakfast." He took a step closer, his large boot making a clomping sound as he did. "I should have known from the state of your cart."

Lottie laughed, unable to stop the sound bubbling from her. "Figures you're the type of freak that doesn't even like Cocoa Puffs." She said with the shake of a head, glancing at his warm, unaffected smile and feeling an easy familiarity wash over them. Although she was slightly surprised by how at ease she felt with the practical stranger she didn't show it, if he felt the same he let nothing slip either as she continued her mocking. "Do you even have taste buds? Have they died?"

"I eat unhealthy things, I just like to keep it balanced."

Lottie snorted causing Juice to set a mock offended look on his face and lay a hand across his heart. "Ouch, wounded."

"Oh okay." Lottie's tone couldn't have been anymore unconvincing if she tried to make it so. "I believe you."

Brown eyes rolling as he fought to suppress another smile Juice replied, "Rich coming from the girl scared of kale."

"I'm not scared of kale. I could eat it, even if it is disgusting." Lottie sounded quite indignant.

Juice smirked. "Care to prove that?" He asked, rather more suavely than even he thought he could be.

Lottie pulled the right side of her bottom lip between her teeth, Juice knew from only two meetings this meant she was thinking. "Depends if you care to prove your taste buds live."

Juice's brow furrowed as he considered the offer. "I'll accept that challenge." He took another step closer, making them only inches apart. "Have to defend the honour of my taste buds after all...lady's first though. How about seven? The small restaurant on the corner of Peach and Pine?" He asked, heart beating nervously in his chest. Although he kept the easy smile on his face it struck him, quite suddenly, how little he wanted this girl to refuse.

Lottie nodded, hair bouncing slightly as she did, "Sounds fine, didn't know there was a restaurant there but I'll take your word for it. Tonight?"

"Tonight." He confirmed with a grin.

Flashing her one last, wide smile that she was sure could be categorised in the panty-dropping category Juice strolled past, leaning down to whisper as he did "Until tonight babe."

Lottie span round her heart hammering against her rib cage like a woodpecker trying to break free, hair fanning out around her like a halo. "Don't call me babe."

"Whatever, you say sweetcheeks." He turned so he was facing her, but continued slowly walking effortlessly backwards with a sense of balance that made her horribly jealous.

"That either."

"Okay Casper calm down." He chuckled holding his hands up as if surrendering.

"Casper?" Lottie's voice was laced with confusion.

Juice chuckled, as he pushed the door open with his back. "You'll figure it out." With a quick wink in her direction he ducked out the door, internally patting himself on the back for being so smooth, wanting to escape quickly before he messed up and showed her what a dork he really was.

For the second time in two days Lottie found herself stood staring down an empty aisle, a shit-eating grin worming its way onto her face because of that man. She didn't know what it was about him, but something, _something_ about him affected her more than she would ever let him know.

* * *

 **Like I said above, I hope you're enjoying it and I'd love to hear!**

 **Rue :)**


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